Big K.R.I.T.

Things are moving fast for the Mississippi rapper/producer Big K.R.I.T. About a month ago, he released the free online album K.R.I.T. Wuz Here (download it here). Just yesterday, he announced his signing with Def Jam. It's easy to hear what the label heard in K.R.I.T., who produced all of K.R.I.T. Wuz Here himself. There's an expansive warmth to his music, which runs classic soul-sampling Southern rap production through a stoned haze that has at least a few things in common with J Dilla.

When K.R.I.T. goes for anthemic, as on the BNM'ed track ["Country Shit"](http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/14366-country-shit/ ""Country Shit"" ), the result pounds hard enough to annihilate your car speakers. But when he sinks back into thoughtful observation, as on most of the album's second half, he finds a lazy prettiness that perfectly suits his classicist drawl. As a rapper, K.R.I.T. is unshowy and almost soft-spoken at times, but his voice always sticks to the beat, and he renders images of Mississippi poverty with a sense of empathy. We caught up with K.R.I.T. a few days before he revealed his Def Jam contract.

Pitchfork: Which did you start doing first, rapping or producing?

Big K.R.I.T.: Oh, I started rapping first-- cafeteria freestyles, rapping on the corner, that type of thing.

Pitchfork: How did you get into producing?

BK: At the time, I was young and I didn't have no job. It wasn't like I could really afford to pay for beats. At the same time, there was this program that came out for PlayStation, MTV Music Generator, where you could make your own beats. So I started making my own beats right around that time because I just couldn't afford to pay for the other ones.

Pitchfork: Your beats sample a lot of soul music, and they feel really full and cinematic. How did you develop that style?

BK: I really like soul music-- Bobby Womack, Curtis Mayfield, just the amount of instrumentation that was put into the work when they were singing. You really were drawn into the feeling, how they felt when they wrote the song, what was going on in the atmosphere while they were recording it. I was really trying to incorporate that into my music, where you feel what I'm saying when I'm rapping and you really can relate and get into the mood of the work. So I listened to a lot of old school, golden era music. It gave me a lot of insight on how to rap and give my all.

Pitchfork: Who are some of the production influences who helped shape that sound?

BK: Of course Organized Noize, as far as OutKast is concerned. A lot of Pimp C production, swang music. Timbaland, Kanye West, DJ Toomp. I definitely understand the sample aspect, too-- the J Dillas and the Pete Rocks and the Diggin' in the Crates, being able to flip a sample to where you don't even know what I used.

Pitchfork: When you released K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, you said you'd give a thousand dollars cash and a pan of brownies to anyone who could pick out all the samples. Has anyone tried to claim it?

BK: No, no, no. People will know one or two, but they won't be able to pick out the rest.

Pitchfork: You're on the new Wiz Khalifa tape, and you've got a couple tracks with Curren$y. When you rap alongside those guys, you've got a style that is way more rooted in classic 1990s southern rap, and you seem to all offset each other really well. Wiz sounds so spaced out, and you come in after him and stick to the beat so hard. It just really works. How did you link up with those guys?

BK: I've known Wiz and seen him grow since 2005. Right around when I came out, he was dropping some mixtapes. We was young in the game. And just recently at SXSW, I chopped it up with him, and we ended up doing "Glass House" with Curren$y. Curren$y is like family. I'm signed with the Cinematic Music Group as well, so it was easier. We're all in the same circle. They jumped on the record and they showed love, and it's just been history ever since.

At the end of the day, we all understand making good music and a global sound, and we all comfortable in our own skins as far as lyrics go. There's definitely this new movement that's happening right now where it doesn't matter what region you're from. It's all about making good music, global music, and really being yourself on records. We're having fun. It's not so uniform to what's been going on in the industry. There's definitely more music to come. It's just all love and musical understanding.

Pitchfork: There's been one big rap name to come out of Mississippi before you. That's David Banner, and you don't sound anything like him. Have you had to battle any preconceptions, coming from there?

BK: We from different parts of Mississippi. Even the lingo is different. It's a lot of different stories and vibes as far as Mississippi is concerned; nobody should be shocked that we sound different. But at the same time, we still host the Southern aspect and represent the same state and the same movement. That's the key point. People really shouldn't expect us to sound the same, especially on lyrical content, him being raised in a different environment. But we still country, and we still doing our thing, be it production or rap.

Pitchfork: As a rapper, you're often compared to T.I. and Pimp C. Do you think those comparisons are accurate?

BK: I mean, of course I was influenced by UGK. Like, that's a given. I'm from Mississippi, man. Swang music is a big part of our sound. At the end of the day, all these artists have they own lane, and they kings at what they do. I'm just trying to make my mark. I can see why people would say the UGK aspect, but it doesn't really bother me too tough. I'm still trying to do me and just make good music and quality music, music that you can feel, like those artists have done.